Should transgender people

allowed
reservation
government jobs?

be
in

Theres a gender in your brain and a gender in your body. For 99 percent of people, those things
are in alignment. For transgender people, theyre mismatched. Thats all it is. Its not complicated,
its not a neurosis. Its a mix-up. Its a birth defect, like a cleft palate.
This quote by Chaz Bono clearly identifies the state of a transgender. It is a condition when ones
gender identity or gender expression does not match with ones assigned sex. A transgender is
independent of sexual orientation; they may be identified as heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual,
pansexual, polysexual or asexual; some may even consider conventional sexual orientation labels
inadequate or inapplicable to them.
Transgender people can be precisely defined as:
Somebody relating to or designating a person whose identity, does not conform unambiguously to
conventional notions of male or female gender roles, but combines or moves between these.
People who were assigned a sex, usually at birth based on their genitals, but who feel that this is a
false or incomplete description of them.
People who dont identify with the assumed sex and gender that were assigned to them at birth.
About 2 million of transgender population lives in India, where the term hijra is commonly used to
describe the eunuchs, transgender people, transsexuals, cross-dressers and transvestites. Most of
them face discrimination and abuse in the society and are often ridiculed for their different sexual
identity and orientation. Over the past few decades, the eunuchs have suffered harassment and
exclusion from society and their families.
However, on April 15, 2014, the transgender were granted the status of the third gender by the
Supreme Court in a landmark ruling that will entitle them to benefits of the Centre and State
government welfare schemes. By recognizing them as third gender, this court is not only upholding
the rule of law but also advancing justice to the class that has so far been deprived of its legitimate
natural and constitutional rights. The court, however, clarified its verdict pertained only to eunuchs
and not other sections of the society such as gays, lesbians and bisexuals, who are also
considered under the umbrella term, transgender.
Due to their lack of access to jobs and education, many male-to-female transgender are forced to
work as sex workers or move around in organized groups begging or demanding money. Treating
the problems faced by transgender community as a human rights issue, the Centre and State
governments would address the problems being faced by eunuchs such as fear, shame,
gender dysphoria, social pressure, depression, suicidal tendencies, social stigma, etc. The court

observed that the third gender status would help the transgender to "enjoy their human rights,
which are deprived to them for want of this recognition".

Upholding their right to decide their self-identified gender, a bench of justice KS Radhakrishnan
and justice AK Sikri directed the Centre and the State governments to treat them as socially and
educationally backward classes of citizens and provide them reservation in admissions in
educational institutions and government jobs. The Supreme Court said that the absence of law
recognizing the eunuchs as the third gender could not be continued as a ground to discriminate
them in availing equal opportunities in education and employment. Among the crucial
recommendations is their inclusion among "Other Backward Class" - the official term used by the
Indian government - communities to avail of the stipulated 27 percent reservations in government
education institutions and offices. The court recommended that the third gender will be given
educational and employment reservation as Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
The apex court states that social welfare schemes for third gender community will be devised and
a public awareness campaign would be initiated in order to erase the social stigma; special public
toilets and departments to look into their special medical issues would be constructed. The court
also added that if a person surgically changes his/her sex, then he/she is entitled to the changed
sex and cannot be discriminated. Expressing concerns over the transgender being harassed, the
Supreme Court said that section 377 of IPC is believed to be misused by the police and other
authorities against the eunuchs leading to their social and economic conditions far from
satisfactory.
The basic reason to provide the third gender community with reservations is to provide them with
opportunities as they have been the most disadvantaged section of our society and it needs to be
done for their upliftment. The amount of discrimination faced by the transgender community
entitles them for such a reservation because they have faced unnecessary exclusion for years
together. Eunuchs should also receive the similar rights as the OBCs, they should be uplifted and
made inclusive. If our children work or study beside them, only then will they learn to respect them.
The private sector, which has its own recruitment policies can smartly evade with employing these
people so it is only the government sector, which is known for its inclusivity, can do something so
that these people can bravely face the society. Therefore, the government should make sure that
proper education is imparted to them and awareness is spread because only then would they be
entitled to jobs. Reservation is of utmost importance to ensure their inclusivity. Two years ago, the
Election Commission allowed enrollment of transgender under the Others category in electoral
rolls. Since then, 28,314 transgender have been registered across India with the poll panel.
However, there are certain inconsistencies which need revision in context of the apex court ruling
upholding section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, ruling that consensual gay sex between adults
was illegal. Recognizing the eunuchs as a third gender means no one can point a finger at their
sexual orientation whereas for lesbians and gays it is not the same. There is a contradiction in that.
So the law has to be consistent with the needs of all.